Lack of coordination and other problems with government-run centers are hurting the effort to provide better analysis of the nation's intelligence, according to a report in a CIA journal. Some of these centers have existed for years to improve U.S. efforts against terrorism, weapons proliferation and other threats. But the creation of new ones - such as the National Counterterrorism Center - has become a commonly used remedy in the intelligence overhaul sparked by Sept. 11 and the botched prewar intelligence on Iraq. The article in the newly declassified Studies in Intelligence argues that experts on particular countries or regions should not be split up into centers that focus on single issues that cross the borders of nations or continents. Written by four intelligence veterans with more than 100 years of combined experience, the article found that the quality of intelligence analysis suffers with these centers because of ... http://www.guardian.co.uk

Users could be in for less frustration as Microsoft makes flagship programs handle rival ways of saving documents, spreadsheets and presentations. The initiative covers the Word, Excel and PowerPoint programs from the Office software suite. The prototype of the first tool to translate between formats will be made available as a free download on 6 July. Microsoft said it started building the software tools in response to requests from government customers. Every PC user knows how careful they have to be when moving important files around because of the incompatibilities between different programs, such as word processors, that do the same job. Saving a file in a format in one program can make it difficult to open in another, without sacrificing some of the way that the information in the file is laid out or formatted ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5153350.stm

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has put on hold all plans to privatise state-run companies following opposition from his alliance partners. Earlier on Thursday, a key ally of the governing Congress Party threatened to pull out of the government. The move by the regional DMK party was in response to a plan to sell stakes in a state-run power company. The government had hoped to raise about $500m (£272m) by selling 10% of the shares of the Neyveli Lignite Corp. It was one of two state-owned firms, along with one of the country's largest aluminium manufacturers - National Aluminium Co Ltd - in which the government was planning to sell shares. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5154416.stm

In the bloodiest day since Israel invaded Gaza over a soldier's capture, troops seized empty Jewish settlements Thursday and pushed toward densely populated towns, killing at least 12 Palestinians. Israel entered the three abandoned settlements overnight as it expanded a week-old incursion into Gaza, carving out a temporary buffer zone to prevent Palestinian militants from firing rockets into southern Israel. The invasion was Israel's largest operation in Gaza since withdrawing from the coastal territory less than a year ago. Throughout the day, Israeli aircraft targeted Palestinian militants with missile strikes, while Israeli tanks took up positions between tightly packed Palestinian homes. Apache helicopters hovered overhead, firing flares and machine guns to support ground forces engaged in fierce skirmishes with masked Palestinian men....http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-07-06-gaza-offensive_x.htm?csp=34

The New York State Court of Appeals refused to recognize same-sex marriage in a ruling issued Thursday, saying the issue was a question for the Legislature to decide.The New York case involved 48 gay and lesbian couples who filed four separate cases seeking to overturn a 97-year-old state law that defines marriage as between a man and woman.The couples claimed the law violated their constitutional rights because it defended sex discrimination. The cases were heard together by the court in Albany."We hold that the New York Constitution does not compel recognition of marriages between members of the same sex," the appeals court said in its 70-page ruling. "Whether such marriages should be recognized is a question to be addressed by the Legislature."...http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/07/06/gay.marriage.reut/index.html?section=cnn_us